Doctor who, again?
by PaintedWithPixels456
Summary: Set after "Angels take Manhattan," *Spoilers* ;) With some creative liberties, of course. The Doctor needs to find a new assistant, and who better than a so-called insane girl, Sam? But things never go as planned, and Sam, the Doctor, River, Amy, and the others are tossed into a vortex of chaos.
1. Chapter 1: Hello, Sweetie

_Victoria, England 1890:_

A disheveled police box appeared on the curb as a lacquered carriage drove by. A tall skinny man in a trench coat barely managed to get the door open when he collapsed, lifeless on the cold, snow-covered streets in a pool of his own blood.

A woman strode up to the Police Box, a gun still smoking in her hand. She winked at the man. "Hello, Sweetie."

_Washington, USA 2012:_

Sam stepped out into the sunlight. She was momentarily blinded by the sun's glare, and saw a flash of blue. She shook her head. She was just seeing things.

Sam often saw things that weren't really there. People said she was crazy. Sam wasn't so sure. She had seen things that were so real, so lifelike, and yet so insanely impossible.

Like the time she saw monster outside her window one night, and her parents reassured her there was nothing there. They refused to think that it was anything but a coincidence when the next morning they found the much-loved family cat, Oscar, dead. He lay on the lawn, his throat torn out. Sam knew that the monster must have done it, but her parents blamed the dog next-door.

Sam turned back to the lake. She was sitting on a bench, gazing at Lake Sammamish. She saw the flash of blue again out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see an old blue box that read, "Police Box."

_Victoria, England 1890:_

A sudden flash of consciousness returned to the man's grey-green eyes. A wry smile appeared on his thin lips and he slowly stood up to look at the woman in front of him. She was smiling, her untamable straw ringlets slightly flattened with glistening drops of water. "Call yourself a Doctor all you want, I'll always be the one saving your sorry behind."

She fidgeted with a bulky black wristband, moved to hit a button, then paused. She leaned in close to the Doctor and pecked him on the cheek, then pressed the knob and disappeared.

The Doctor paused to consider this, then stepped back into the Police Box as it began to disappear.

_Washington, USA 2012:_

Sam jerked back, surprised. What on Earth was going on? Why was there a Police Box sitting on the grass just a few feet away from her? Sam sighed, and shook her head. "I really am going crazy."

"I don't believe you are," a voice said from inside the box. "In fact, you're saner than most people."

Sam gaped as part of the box swung open, and a man stepped out. "Wh- who are you?" she stammered.

"I'm the Doctor," he beamed.

"Oh, no." Sam sunk down on the bench. "Not again."

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked. "Have we met before? Oh, dear, I hope not. That could cause all sorts of paradoxical chaos in the space-time continuum."

Sam was confused. What was he blabbering on about? "No, I haven't seen you before," she said.

"Ah. Good," the Doctor seemed very pleased with himself. "Then that's alright then."

"All you _stupid _doctors, thinking that everything's alright, when it's not!" Sam exploded. "You all say the same things, 'there's nothing to be afraid of, there aren't any aliens or monsters, we're here to help,' it's all a load of rubbish!"

The Doctor seemed taken aback. "Erm, what?"

"What do you mean, what?" Sam demanded. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. You're just another counselor that thinks he can help, but you can't!"

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, I see now. People think you're mad, and they send you to doctors to help you."

"Yes." Sam said tiredly. "That's right."

"Well, I'm not that kind of doctor." The Doctor said. "And I don't think you're mad."

"Really? Or are you just saying that to lull me into a false sense of security?" Sam asked. "Because that's what they all do, you know. They pretend they're your friend, then they turn on you, Doctor... who, again?"

"I truly do not think that you're insane." The Doctor said, conveniently ignoring her question. "Just because you can see things that other people can't doesn't mean they aren't there. You're just more perceptive of things than most people."

Sam was confused. This man seemed to actually understand her. But it must be a trick. No one understood her. No one.

_Edinburgh, Scotland 2012:_

Amy stared at the broken picture frame, tears welling in her eyes. He had promised. He had _promised!_

He didn't get it.

He didn't get that when he wasn't there, things happened. Things he said he would fix, things that disappeared around him.

Monsters, sometimes. Maybe the odd Dalek. They were all looking for one thing: Him. They would follow her when they thought she wasn't looking, dart around corners when her head would turn prompted by the occasional shadow at the corner of her eye.

But she knew they were there. She had always seen them. After the Doctor first came, after fish fingers and custard in the kitchen and waiting all night in the garden. They had been there. Watching. It was only when she had joined the Doctor on his travels that she began to recognize the entirely indescribable forms that had grown to be the hard truth of her life.

Even when they weren't on Earth, she saw them.

On distant planets- Saturn 9, before it was destroyed, Gallifrey before Melody came. Sometimes they were allies, like the scaled Slitheens that hovered at the corner of her conscience. But sometimes she sensed the cold presence of a Cyberman next to her, ready to shoot. But it wasn't only them. Other things had happened.

More cracks had appeared in the walls, so she and Rory moved.

When the faint trail of a jet spelled itself into the words "Don't Blink," they stopped going to air shows.

But it was never ending.

One week it would be doodles of the Tardis on the newspaper, the next there would be a levitating bow tie on their front porch.

They couldn't escape him.

The Doctor was in.

_Washington, USA 2012:_

"Now let me guess," said the Doctor, "You've seen things, scary things, that no one else could see, correct?"

Sam nodded.

"And people thought you were crazy, they said you were mad. But things would happen that could only be explained by the things you saw," the Doctor continued.

Sam's eyes widened. How did he know? It hadn't just been Oscar's death, there had been many other accidents that she knew would happen because of something she saw.

"Am I right?" the Doctor asked her.

"You're right." Sam found herself saying. "Things happen that I knew would happen, but no one believed me."

"Like what?" The Doctor questioned. He seemed genuinely curious, unlike the other people Sam had been interrogated by.

"I saw a huge fish-lizard-crocodile thing take a bite out of a bridge," Sam started, "But no one else noticed, and when I told people that the bridge might collapse, no one listened. But a little while later, the bridge fell. When they tried to figure out what happened to it, they said that a chunk of the bridge had 'fallen off,' even though the bite marks were obvious." she said.

Sam was surprised. She never told anyone about these things. Yet she found herself wanting this Doctor to understand.

The Doctor nodded. "It sounds like you are one of those rare people who cannot be fooled by alien disguises. Even I can't see as much as you can." He admitted.

"Aliens?" Sam asked.

"Er, yes. Creatures from other places in space." The Doctor said.

A loud roar sounded from the lake.

"What was that?" The Doctor asked nervously.

Sam peered at the water. She saw the outline of a beast lurking just under the surface, and said, "A crocodile."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Crocodiles don't roar."

"This one does." Sam said grimly. "It has three heads, and wings."

"Ah." The Doctor said, "That seems dangerous."

"Really?" Sam said sarcastically, keeping a close eye on the mutant crocodile. "It's coming closer." She said.

"Alright," The Doctor motioned towards Police Box, "Let's go."

Common sense said to not follow a stranger. But common sense went out the window when there was a three-headed crocodile with wings coming at you.

Sam leapt into the Police Box.

_London, England 2013:_

River gazed sadly at Amy as she watched her turn her head to face the inevitable: the Doctor. With his new assistant.

_New York, USA, 1920:_

Amy picked up the vortex manipulator gingerly. It was incredibly light, contrary to the countless knobs and buttons on the black surface of the gizmo. When River had dropped it here, five years before, Amy had known it was their ticket out. Now it was time to leave. She couldn't wait another ten years to meet up with the Doctor. She had to see him.

A note taped to the inside of the manipulator was all the direction they got. It simply read, Center of London, 1995

Rory had insisted they wait, insisted that the Doctor would come for them, that he would wait for them. Amy had no such grand disillusions.

She watched as he walked every morning to the graveyard they had been attacked in and as he came home every evening, a hollow look in his eyes.

And as she watched, she learned about the vortex manipulator, how it worked and how it seemed to take shape before her eyes.

She learned how to read Gallifrey by using the limited knowledge she had gained from the Doctor and apply it to her new found best friend.

It was not that she actually wanted to see the Doctor. She had to do this for Rory. So one night after he had come home, his neck bent to the ground and tears in his eyes, she had snuck out, a package hidden under her jacket.

Inside was the vortex manipulator and a forged note, pretending to be the doctor. It explained how to use it and how sorry the Doctor was that they had been zapped away by the angel.

_TARDIS Time Unknown:_

Sam looked around at the vast room that the Police Box somehow contained. "It's bigger on the inside." She murmured in understanding.

"That's right." The Doctor said weakly, slamming the door. He stumbled over to the center of the room, and flicked some switches. He coughed, and collapsed to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Sam hurried over to him. She turned him over, and saw a long gash in his side. The crocodile must have bit him before he escaped. "Oh…" she breathed. "That doesn't look good."

Suddenly the room jerked and spun. There was a grinding noise, then everything was still.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Sam whispered. She looked at the Doctor. "Wake up!" She shook his shoulder.

He blinked slowly. He made a gargling noise. "Hlelp ulp." He choked out.

"Help you up?" Sam guessed.

The Doctor nodded, clutching his side. Blood was flowing from the wound, but the Doctor managed to stay conscious.

Sam grabbed his hand, and helped him up.

The Doctor lurched towards the door. "Out." He managed to say, then coughed out blood.

"Okay, we'll go out. But the monster might still be there." Sam warned.

The Doctor opened the doors, and fell onto the snow-covered ground outside.

Huh? Sam was confused. Snow-covered ground? Where were they?

Or maybe a better question was, _when _where they…

**My friend and I wrote this- just wanted to get your feedback! Let us know if you want us to continue this. :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Center of London, 2013

**_Disclaimer: We don't own any characters,locations or anything affiliated with the Doctor Who Television show, books and merchandise. _**

**_A/N: Sorry we didn't have the disclaimer up last time, we forgot. :S Anyway, we hope you enjoy this. Please review. If you have any ideas as to where the story could go, please post them. Thanks! :D_**

_TARDIS Time Unknown:_

The Doctor closed the doors behind him, and turned to face Sam. "Well that was interesting."

Sam eyed him cautiously. "How did she do that?"

"Do what?" The Doctor asked, pulling a lever, and pushing some buttons. The Police Box shook.

"How did that woman heal you?" Sam asked, grabbing at the wall so she wouldn't fall over. "You were bleeding to death, and she just waved a hand and you were fixed."

"She realigned the atoms in the damaged cells, fused the blood veins, and zapped all the bacteria with UV light." The Doctor said.

Sam blinked. "In English, please?"

"She healed me. Let's just leave it at that." The Doctor said, running a hand through his hair. "Now, where do you want to go?"

"Go?" Sam asked. "I don't want to go anywhere, I want you to explain what's going on."

"I knew you were going to say that." The Doctor sighed. "How about a compromise, we go somewhere to discuss what's going on."

"Sure." Sam said, not quite certain what she had just agreed to.

"How about London?" The Doctor suggested.

"I was thinking the Future…" Sam trailed off.

"London, in 2013, then!" The Doctor said cheerily. "Let's go!" He flicked a switch, and the Police Box rattled to a halt. The Doctor stepped over to the door, and flung it open. "Welcome to England!"

"Wow." Sam gazed at the center of London. "This isn't that different, though."

"Well, it's only a year in the future." The Doctor said, stepping out of the Police Box.

"So how does a simple Police Box manage to travel in time?" Sam asked.

"It's not a Police Box, it just looks like one because the Chameleon Circuit broke. It's a TARDIS." The Doctor explained.

"A what?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Time and Relative Dimensions in Space." The Doctor said quickly.

"Sure…" Sam looked around. "Hey, why are they staring at us?"

"Who's staring at us?" The Doctor whirled around.

"Those women over there, the redhead and the one with blonde curls." Sam said.

The Doctor froze. "Ah."

The Center of London, 2013 (Five minutes earlier):

"Amy! Amy, wait!" cried Rory at the top of his lungs, chasing after his enraged wife.

"SHUT IT, RORY!" she cried in response.

"Yes, dear." He sighed resignedly.

When he had discovered the box in the cemetery with the Doctor's note inside, Rory had felt, if anything, relief. Being trapped in 1930s New York was doing a number on Amy. Her face was pale and pinched tight with worry, and he now realized, anger.

"She was mad at the Doctor." He whispered to himself, stopping in his tracks.

But it was _his_ fault! That was why, every day he had returned home defeated and miserable, eager to fix the situation he had thrown the two of them in.

But she was mad at the Doctor. Rory sped up and caught Amy's arm.

"Stop! It was my fault, not his!" he said desperately. She glared at him.

"Leave me alone, Rory." she hissed at him. Shocked, he dropped her arm and she spun off through the crowds.

Following her line of sight, Rory gazed over the sea of bobbing heads and umbrellas and the forest of trench coats and shopping bags. Then he saw her. A mass of bobbing blonde curls topping a denim jacket. River. A voice in his

head mentally reminded him, 'Not River Song, Melody Pond- your daughter.'

It was strange, thinking of the older woman like that and Rory shook the thought clear of his mind then leapt into the fray to chase after Amy.  
He saw a tell tale shock of red hair catch up with the blond one and pause for a moment to talk.

River shook her head, her curls bouncing wildly. Amy grabbed her arm, almost shaking it, her mouth moving too rapidly for him to deduce what she was saying.

River bit her lip, then took Amy's hand and began to lead her through the dense crowd.

Rory shook himself out of his stupor and dashed after them. He had almost caught up to them when they stopped. Wary, he halted too. He watched as River pointed to a shaded spot next to a bench on the square. Rory watched Amy squint at it. Then, suddenly her eyes widened in comprehension. Rory stared, bemused at the apparently blank space when he caught a blue tint in the air. Staring harder, he made out the faint lines of a faded Police Box, it's light shining above.

The door opened. The Doctor stepped out.

The Center of London, 2013:

The Doctor started walking towards to women, but Sam caught his arm. "Are they enemies?" She hissed.

"No." The Doctor said, grinning. "They're friends." He strode over to the redhead, and pulled her into a hug. "Amelia Pond, I am so glad to see you."

"It's nice to see you, too, Doctor." She said, "But I told you not to call me Amelia."

"Sorry, Amy." The Doctor said, but he was still smiling. "Where's that fiancé of yours?" He asked, pulling away from her so he could look around.

Amy spun around to look at the sea of people. She frowned. "He was back there somewhere."

Sam ran up to them. "Hey, who are you?" She asked.

"Amy Pond." Amy said.

"River Song." Said the blonde-haired woman.

"Ah, yes. Hello, River." The Doctor smiled, and hugged her.

"Hello, Sweetie." She smiled back at him, then turned to Sam. "So, are you the new assistant?"

Amy grimaced, and the Doctor turned to her awkwardly. "Amy, I thought you were gone; there was no way to tell when you where-"

"It's alright, Doctor." Amy said, although there was some sadness in her eyes. "Anyway, it's not like I'm going to come with you."

"What?" The Doctor gaped at her. "But… Amy, I just found you again!"

"It's not like we'll never see each other again." Amy reassured him. "I have this." She showed him the vortex manipulator.

"River?" the Doctor turned to her. "Why did you-"

"It's a long story, Doctor." River said. "She needed it more than I did."

"I see." The Doctor said, frowning. "But then how will you-"

"I'll just hitch a ride in your TARDIS while I find another way to travel." River said calmly.

"Amy!" A man yelled, running up to her.

Amy turned, and the man wrapped his arms around her. "Oh, hi Rory." She said awkwardly. "Listen, I'm sorry I snapped at you, I was just worried the Doctor would disappear before we could see him again."

"It's okay." Rory said, still hugging her. "I was a jerk, too."

"Okay, so River's coming with us, and you two are going back to your time?" The Doctor asked. "Er, never mind, I can wait." He fidgeted.

After Amy and Rory were done kissing, Amy responded, "I don't really know where we'll go. I guess we could go back to our time. 2012, I mean."

"What do you mean by River's going to join _us_?" Sam asked. "I'm just going back home, right?"

"Have you explained anything to her?" River asked, rolling her eyes at the Doctor.

"I'll explain in the TARDIS." The Doctor said quickly. "Let's go. Rory, Amy, I'll come to your house in 2012 if I want to see you. Do not go anywhere other than Earth, I'm not there to protect you."

"We don't need protecting!" Amy protested.

"Um, Amy, do you remember anything from when we traveled with him? We'd be dead a thousand times over if we didn't have a Timelord with us." Rory said.

"Humph." Amy grabbed Rory's hand, pressed a button on the vortex manipulator, and they were gone.

"That's our cue to leave." The Doctor said, opening the TARDIS. "Ladies first." He gestured towards the inside.

Sam and River glared at him.

"Er, never mind." The Doctor raced into the TARDIS. "Come along."

Sam took one last look at London before entering the TARDIS once more.


End file.
